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As a self proclaimed book nerd, there are things that spark my interest that most would glance over and dismiss as boring, dumb or just plain ole’ dorky. But the products, events, and people that some would label as unexciting, I find enticing and spectacular. You’ll come to find that the longer you join me on this book blogging journey, the more I will embrace, and encourage YOU to embrace, the off-the-beaten-track adventures in the great wide world of Bookland.

I like to say my first real “cherry popping” book adventure was about a year and a half ago when my co worker (the now infamous Ms. Amy) informed me of an upcoming book signing. Now I had been to the midnight book releases of Harry Potter at Barnes and Noble, trekked through the movie theaters for the Lord of The Rings movie premiers with my father, been actively involved in scripting out light sabers duels to be performed at the theater while we nervously waited to watch the new releases of Star Wars (not really books but you see where I am going with this.) I had clearly defined my place as a lover-of-all-things nerdtastic. And I had spent more nights then I could possible count losing sleep over books that I just had to finish before I went to bed. But I had never established myself as a Professional Book Lover (PBL). Those were juvenile and amateurish activities compared to what I could be doing to fulfill my PBL potential. So alas, I decided to push my myself to the next level, move my peg up on the board, take that next step on the ladder and commit to my true calling: Sydney, the Book Dominator. Conquer of YA Books, Writer of Rattle the Stars, Reviewer of Stories.

Ok…. got a little excited there. But I think it’s a great moment and everyone should be proud when they commit to being 100% their own person. Finally chucking all those insecurities out the window that have made them hide bits and pieces of themselves. That’s what I did in that moment. I bared my dorky, nerdy, geeky soul to the world! And I am so much happier because of it.

Back to the story!

So Amy and I went to go see none other then one of my favorite authors of all time: Christopher Paolini.

I swoon at his books so hard. The Inheritance series is probably one of the greatest YA series ever written. It’s incredible in it’s richness and depth and the world building is dynamic and captivating it takes my breath away. It has the epic qualities of LOTR and Dune without all the confusing side tracking and WSOD stretching worlds that can distract you from the plot. From the moment you open the book Eragon, the pro-tag, is vivacious, strong, and real. You follow him on his journey, watch him struggle, see him overcome, feel him become the person he’s meant to be. You bleed with him, you cry with him, you love him. It’s been two years since I’ve finished this series and I still don’t have a way to fully articulate how much these books mean to me. And to think the Paolini wrote these when he was a teenager? A FREAKING TEENAGER! I was still writing essays for English class when this creative bitch over here is writing YA fantasy masterpieces. (Jealous doesn’t even come close to how I feel about this). But needless to say I was fangirling all over this guy at the book signing. We were waiting for hours in the Phoenix Public Library on the second floor for him to come out, give a talk, speak some Elvish (kinda hot in a very nerdy way), and sign the books.

When it was my turn to finallyyyyyyyy meet him and have him sign my well-loved copies, it was an amazing moment in my life. He signed his name in the first three books of the series and then signed MY NAME and HIS NAME in the fourth book. *faints* I was even able to stammer out my favorite part of the series and we had a mini convo about him writing it. Greatest. Experience. Ever.

(I’m the blonde gawking at him, especially when he’s looking right at me. ERMERGERD!)

My main reason for telling you all about this is because I want people know that embracing who you are is as scary and wonderful as falling in love. Because essentially, you are falling in love with yourself. You are letting yourself be exactly who you are. That amazing, incredible, feisty, fiercely passionate about whatever it may be person that hides in your heart until you are ready to let it fly.

I love books. And I assume that most of you are reading this because you love books too. Or because you know me… (Hi Mom!!) So for the next week I am going to take you on some of my favorite Adventures in Bookland I have had in the last year. Some were amazing, some were… uh…. different… but all were eye-opening! So hop on the train, my friends and let’s have some fun!

“Perhaps that was the point; life, if you did it right, meant learning and changing. If you didn’t, you died- or stopped growing – which amounted to more or less the same thing. So I would slide in and out of different roles until I discovered the one that fit me best.
― Ann Aguirre, Outpost